REVIEW of film: “CERTIFIED COPY” [ = Report # 13 re 46th CIFF ]

2010, 10-01:

REVIEW of film: “CERTIFIED COPY”  [ = Report # 13 re 46^th CIFF ]

       

            REPORT # 13 on the 2010  46^th CHICAGO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL =     

This is the new film by Director ABBAS KIAROSTAMI that won star JULIETTE BINOCHE the Best Actress award at the CANNES Film Festival…

…  Some films are what I call mainly “ACTING EXERCISES”.  By that I mean, the major actors may have taken their parts because they can do a good job at “biting into” their roles, & yet the film as a WHOLE may well not be all that “ENJOYABLE” for audiences (or, at least to this one)...

...  As an example, I give you Julia Roberts’ role in “EAT PRAY LOVE”.  Sadly, I found this NEW French movie in the SAME “category” (of “acting EXERCISES”) as far as I was concerned:

…  JULIETTE BINOCHE is a gallery owner / antique dealer named Elle.  She (a single parent living in Italy) takes her 12-ish son to a lecture being given by a famous British author named James Miller (WILLIAM SHIMELL) who was promoting his book “CERTIFIED COPY” (“Copie Conforme” in French)...

...  The book & lecture concern whether copies of things are as “good” or as worthwile as the “ORIGINAL” (& the various “levels” of copy quality levels such as in antiques)…

…  At one point, she invites author William to her home (which is also her “shop”) filled with antiques & “copies” of them, to in-effect get his “opinion” of what she has.  A great deal of time is spent discussing & arguing the subject of “artistic originals” & the like...

...  All-in-all, she seems to have a “NEED” for people to AGREE with her, & becomes a bit “weird” if they don’t…

…  To me, a lot of their “positions” on the subject quickly become dry & BORING, rehashed over & over again in various not-very-interesting “forms” (with him expounding on how it might be better to get a good COPY rather than wasting time with originals, etc.)…  The film may well be mainly about the artifices of the PEOPLE highlighted in it, rather than in tangible “objects”…

…  For some reason, William agrees to join her on an outing into the Italian countryside, where she wants to show him some more examples of “originals” & copies in a small town (to sort of “convince” him of her positions)… 

...  The Fest Schedule states that “Their banter… is filled with FLIRTATION…” --  but I think that description of their communication is overly “generous”:   to me, it was often vacuous & suffused with trying to “impress” each other with false “sophistication” (mainly on William’s part)…

…  Altho the Schedule says “the nature of their relationship becomes ambiguous when an honest MISUNDERSTANDING—” arises, to me, Juliette was clearly WORKING to give people the impression that she & William were a MARRIED couple (rather than there being much of any real in-depth “misinterpretation”)…

…  Juliette (to me) appears to live in a “DREAM WORLD” of considerable UN-reality at times.  She goes out of her way to TELL people they supposedly had been married for “15 years”, wants them to be included in photos of a young couple about to BE married, and so on… 

…  For some reason, William bit-by-bit starts to go “ALONG” with her charade, even when they’re talking just between themselves.  I saw no logical “PURPOSE” to their “married couple” discussions;  it was like an exercise in trying to exhibit intellectual “superiority”...

...  Juliette keeps trying to “convince” him to do things as a “married” couple, & becomes “bizarre” when he keeps FIGHTING her ideas…    

…  In the midst of their “role-playing” as a “couple”, they continue their vapid discussions of things like “FAKE jewelry is as good as ORIGINALS”, talk about their “anniversary”, etc.  Their discussions are (to use a line in the film) “intentionally AIMLESS”, & I found it hard to get very “invested” in their meaningless debates...

...  (Maybe the director WANTED the audience to be fed up?...  If so, he succeeded brilliantly in my case!…)

…  At one point, William expounds on his belief that “the whole PURPOSE of life is to have PLEASURE”, & Juliette (typically) disagrees with that & starts more “circular” discussions on that subject… 

...  Juliette enlists an elderly tourist couple to try to convince William that she’s right that a statue in the square is great because the woman in it is laying her head on the man’s shoulder…  It’s all so massively UNIMPORTANT & frequently uninteresting overall!...

…  The poster for the film describes it as “An original LOVE story.”  To me, there’s almost NO real love in this film, outside of possibly some SELF-love (mainly on the part of William’s character)!...

…  Juliette does indeed give a FINE acting performance, as a somewhat flighty, OBSESSED woman.  But (as you may well tell from my previous comments), I was quite DISAPPOINTED in the movie on the whole, NOT enjoying it as an “overall” experience.  For the acting, I’ll rate it a 7 out of 10 stars…

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REVIEW of film: “DRUNKBOAT” [ = Report # 06 on the 46th CIFF ]

2010, 09-24:

REVIEW of film: “DRUNKBOAT”   [ = Report # 06 on the 46^th CIFF ]

               REPORT # 06 on the 2010 46^th CHICAGO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL =     =

This film has a very odd name, & might make you expect a story of people who are invited on board a vessel to try having a “bender”--  but that is NOT the case:  it’s really about people AROUND the boat who are periodically drunk…

…  As the story begins, longtime scammer Mr. Fletcher (JOHN GOODMAN) is very “2 sheets to the wind” as he winds down the highway with his uneager partner Morley (JIM ORTLIEB)...

...  Their truck is pulling a broken-down old boat which is filling up with water as they’re pelted by a rainstorm.  But never at a loss for an unfeasible “quick fix” to a problem, John promptly drills HOLES in the bottom of the boat for the water to drain out…

…  Per John’s idea, they pick up a young hitchhiker--  who John feels can be used for manual labor work delivering some unauthentic booze “under-the-counter” to a bar.  The bar’s owner treats the hitcher very roughly when John claims he has the money to replace a broken bottle--  all done so John & Jim can escape from the area…

…  Jim --  whose son has come to visit his boatyard with a girlfriend --  does not like the way John “operates”, but he keeps going along with his plans to try to make some “easy money” by doing PHONY “repairs” to the boat (such as using plaster of Paris on the wood hull) so they can sell it to some unsuspecting schnook…

…  The scene switches to the Chicago-area home run by a single mother named Eileen (DANA DELANEY).  Her teenage son Abe (JACOB ZACHAR) loves boats, & tries to convince his pal David (BRIAN DENEEN) that they should try buying one & sailing on their own to an island near Mackinac…

…  Meanwhile, Dana’s home is visited by a strange guy who keeps silently standing in front of the house.  She acts weirdly about the event, & eventually admits to Jacob that the guy is her BROTHER Mort (JOHN MALKOVICH) who she’s “leery” of due to his history of being alcoholic…

…  Eventually, on Jacob’s prodding, she finally lets Malkovich into the house, where he claims to be “SOBER” now.  But, from the way he talks, it’s clear he’s still suffering emotionally and / or mentally from upsetting times he spent fighting the War in Vietnam…

…  Naturally, the main characters start “intertwining”, in that Jacob & Brian go to visit the boatyard to try to buy a “sloop” that’s been advertised for cheap...

...  John naturally keeps “promoting” the boat & working to hide its inherent DEFECTS.  Jacob has the money--  but he has to agree to have some ADULT sign for the the purchase so John can claim it’s a legal “AS-IS” sale (to protect himself from the scam he’s perpetrating)…

…  Jacob has carefully “planned” things to try to buy the boat when his mom Dana is AWAY, expecting he can convince often-confused MALKOVICH (who’s building a bottle “garden”) to sign for the purchase for him… 

…  Will Jacob’s plan WORK?...  Will Malkovich be clear-headed enough to avoid making the deal with scammer John?...  If so, will the boys be SAFE on the boat?...  What will happen if DANA learns of the con?...

…  The film reminded me of a MAMET-style movie, with it’s sort of sparse, clipped & “off-kilter” dialogue (especially by the boat sellers & in speeches Malkovich makes)… 

...  The very end sort of “drifted away” from being effective, & that lowered my overall rating on the odd-but-periodically-fascinating film to a 7 out of 10…

[...  After the above review was written, I was advised that the DVD screener I’d seen was an “incomplete”, UNFINISHED version of the movie.  I had some plans to try to see the “finished” version, but that proved unfeasible due to the ridiculous & disrespectful actions of an “outside” party working for the Festival... ]

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REVIEW of film: “LOOSE CANNONS” [ = Report # 05 on the 46th CIFF ]

2010, 09-23:

REVIEW of film: “LOOSE CANNONS”  [ = Report # 05 on the 46^th CIFF ]  

                 Re the 2010 46^th CHICAGO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL =     

The original title of this dramedy Italian film is “Mine Vaganti”, & the basic story revolves around the Cantone family that wants to sell a portion of their PASTA-making company to another group...

...  But, as so often happens, things don’t go “smoothly” in the plan, mainly because the Cantones keep numerous SECRETS from each other in the town of Lecce…

…  Vincenzo (ENNIO FANTASTICHINI) is the stern, homophobic patriarch of the Cantone family.  His youngest son Tomasso (RICCARDO SCAMARCIO) has led the family into thinking he’s been studying Business in Rome.  He not only hasn’t been doing that, but he HATES the business world, & really wants to be a WRITER…

…  Tomasso has decided that his only way to get truly OUT of the family business is to “come-out” & admit to his family that he’s actually GAY, which he expects will cause his father to angrily REMOVE him from the company (especially because of the way his father is always concerned with what “others” in town might think of his family members)…

…  The father has planned a big family dinner, which is scheduled to be held with the new PARTNER group that includes pretty Alba Brunetti (NICOLE GRIMAUDO)…  Altho Tomasso had been “distant” from his older brother Antonio (ALESSANDRO PREZIOSI), he REVEALS his planned announcement to Antonio before the dinner is held…

…  But, before Tomasso can disclose his bombshell news to the rest of the family, he’s interrupted by a dinner-table announcement by ANTONIO who reveals his OWN secret-- which causes their father to have a heart attack after he tells Antonio to leave home because of his revelation…

…  Feeling “guilty” about what has happened at dinner, Tomasso keeps QUIET about his own secrets, & reluctantly agrees to join Alba in helping RUN the pasta operation…  Using his “noodle” leads Tomasso to grow increasingly UNHAPPY & distant from his lover back in Rome…

…  As time goes on, OTHER secrets are revealed--  by Alba, by the boys’ grandmother Luciana (ELENA SOFIA RICCI), Tomasso’s sister Elena (BIANCA NAPPI), and others… 

...  One of the main functions of this family seems to be to DYS-function, & things grow more complicated as Tomasso discloses his various secrets to other people little-by-little…  In time, we even learn just WHO is considered to be the main “loose cannon” in the family…

…  Near the end of the generally well-done film about family difficulties, they add in some very “STEREOTYPED” characters in the form of a visit to the family home by some of Tomasso’s FRIENDS from Rome--  which is so “over-done” in certain ways, that it “dragged-down” the film for me… 

…  But, since there’s a bunch of GOOD work in this (--  to the point that I’d almost expect an AMERICAN version to be made of the movie’s general plot ideas--), I’d give it 7 stars out of 10…

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Report on: CONGRESS THEATER for Live "RAP / HIP-HOP" Musical Performances in Chicago

2010, 04-18:

Report on:  CONGRESS THEATER for Live "RAP / HIP-HOP" Musical Performances in Chicago

            In 1926, a movie palace called the Congress Theater was built in Chicago at 2117-2139 N. Milwaukee.  It originally could hold more than 2900 film-goers (at a single show), and was declared a Chicago landmark in 2002.  In recent years, it was turned into a location holding LIVE MUSIC events…

…  On April 16^th, I attended a Rap / Hip-hop “Spring Concert” show there, put on by Roc 10 Inc (Chicagoroc10).  The show started around 8 PM...

...  The original theater seats had been removed from the theater, with just a small number of folding ones set up in the very rear of the cavernous location.  The huge dome was well-lit by a ring of yellow lites circling the base of the dome, & the speakers were so powerful, you could feel the “thumping” about 70 feet away from the stage (where I sat)…

…  Most of the time, various DJ “mix-masters” ran a show from their huge console in the center of the stage, “scratching” & mixing some inventive music.  There also was a sort of “host” (seemingly MOE BEY, tho the voice mics were usually so “muffled” sound-wise, I often couldn’t understand just what people were saying).  He asked which “side” of town people were from, commented on all the “sexy” girls near the stage, etc…

…  A periodically-singing host (possibly SEAN MAC, who was listed as scheduled for the show) frequently held “BOOTY-shaking” contests, utilizing women in the audience whom he picked from the stage...

...  Once, he also had guys come up for a “DANCE-off”, & he got a number of quite-talented performers from the crowd.  He then let the audience “VOTE” on the winners (by acclamation), & they usually got tickets to a future show in town… 

…  There were probably 400-600 people in the audience (by the time I left around 10:30 PM), & one of the things I liked most was the way the crowd was very MIXED racially (& age-wise), & people for the most part got ALONG very well, seemingly having a GOOD time (with Security hardly having to escort anyone elsewhere)…

…  Between the “contests”, two main DJ’s took over (alternating).  One seemed to be DJ A-OH (again, it was hard to understand what people said), & another was a guy who’d worked on WGCI radio (possibly DJ MOONDOG).  The show was advertised as featuring DJ NEPHETS & REMIX ROY…

…  The main headliners were to be DJ KID CAPRI, YOUNG JOC, & Oscar-winning THREE SIX MAFIA (who wrote the 2005 song “It’s Hard Out There For A Pimp”)...

...  But, while the audience was appropriately enthusiastic for the DJ’s (& happily buying drinks from $ 5 beers on up), things became so sort of “slow”-moving & “repetitive” (with the ever-present “booty-shaking” contests & the like), since the concert could’ve gone on until 2-4 AM, I eventually left before the main acts performed…

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